Study of the efficiency and workflow of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in a Spanish public hospital.

Abstract

To assess the time-efficiency of a designated operating room (OR) workflow in the introduction of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS, LenSx, Alcon®). The study was carried out in a public hospital a with high-volume of procedures. We performed this prospective, controlled, surgical intervention study in the ophthalmology department of a Spanish tertiary referral public hospital. A total of 167 eyes were enrolled, including 62 eyes undergoing conventional phacoemulsification surgery. In phase I, patients were assigned either to FLACS-I (n=63) or conventional phacoemulsification surgery (n=62). One surgeon operated the femtosecond laser, and another completed the procedure, while a third performed conventional phacoemulsification. In the second phase (FLACS-II), all the surgeries were FLACS (n=42). One surgeon performed the FLACS procedure, and two different surgeons completed the surgeries in separate ORs. Surgical and turnover times of all the patients were recorded. Preparation time was statistically significantly lower in FLACS-I and FLACS-II (P This study suggests a time-efficient and suitable workflow model for FLACS, considering the specific requirements and restrictions of a fully booked public hospital. Even so, we have shown that the FLACS procedure does not take longer than conventional phacoemulsification when following a detailed plan for OR workflow. In addition, our data reflect an improvement in FLACS surgical times with ongoing experience. NCT03931629 (retrospectively registered).